Already this year, even in the monopoly-owned media, the political economy of the working class is making headlines. As with all such acknowledgment of the movement of the working class, the reports are hysterical distortions aimed at blaming the working class for all of the ills of the society. Today, the brunt of the attacks are directed against the California teachers whose successful struggles in defense of public education are being avenged. Not only collective bargaining rights but also freedom of association in the arena of political action is in danger. Scabs who want the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn decades of labor law in the name of the “right” to cross the picket lines are being portrayed as defenders of “democracy” against “totalitarian” unions.

Attacks are being prepared not just against the California teachers, but against teacher’s unions in Baltimore, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Philadelphia and Prince George’s County, MD, Boston, Indianapolis, New York and many more locales across the country where the teachers and their unions have been making huge sacrifices in defense of the right to public education...

So too, other public workers in sectors such as health care, transportation, social welfare programs, prisons, and park service are under attack. In attacking the individual and collective rights of public employees who provide such essential services as first responders, social workers, lactation specialists, restaurant inspectors, street cleaners, garbage collectors, railroad engineers, court reporters, etc., the government has the economic motive of turning more of its funds directly over to the private sector capitalists.

The attacks on public employees also have an important political motive. By trying to undermine the collective strength of public workers and marginalize them, the government seeks to remove a major roadblock to its program of privatizing public services and putting everything at the disposal of the monopolies. Public employees and unions are an important organized force which have been and will continue to be essential to the defense of the interests of the whole people, especially on the front of struggling to defend and extend guarantees for fundamental social aims such as the right to education and other public services.

And the attacks on public workers are only one part of an all-out offensive directed at erasing any and all individual and collective rights gained by the workers over decades of struggle. All along the line, attacks on social legislation such as welfare reform, public health care and social services as well as the dismantling of labor legislation such as workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, laws restricting child labor and overtime, etc. – is a program for reducing the price of labor power.

Such inroads for the political economy of the working class are the product of countless struggles of the working people, which not only created a minimum floor which increased the general level of wages but also forced society to recognize that workers had at least some measure of rights as human beings.

This recognition gave the workers certain economic claims on society, claims on production which are guaranteed through the creation of a social sector of the economy, which to a certain limited extent restricted the political economy of capitalism and commodity production. In denying these rights and privatizing the social sectors of the economy, the capitalists are not only forcing down wages but denying that the workers have any existence, any reason to live, other than to be exploited by the capitalists if and when needed. . . .

These conditions must be changed.

For the Unity of the Working Class

The unity of the working class is continually being upset by both the spontaneous forces of anarchy and competition engendered by capitalism as well as by the conscious plans of the capitalists themselves. These factors, however, can only retard but never suppress or eliminate the every-growing unity and self-conscious organization of the workers. In order to strengthen the unity of the workers, the Workers Party wages a continual struggle against the forces of disunity. This struggle is directed against the influence of capitalist ideology and its proponents within the working class movement.

For many years, the capitalists have built up and relied on an extensive labor aristocracy, as the principal vehicle for infiltrating the working class movement, splitting the people and liquidating the workers’ struggles.

The labor aristocracy, headed up by the trade union bosses, is a stratum completely separated from the lives and concerns of the workers. Today, most of the top union leaders are real bureaucrats who never worked a day in their lives; instead they were trained in “labor relations” at the leading capitalist universities and think-tanks and then placed, by the capitalists, at the head of various unions. The trade union bosses, with their 6-figure salaries, their control over multi-billion dollar pension funds, their positions within the government and often even on the boards of directors of the big corporations, follow the same life-style as the capitalists themselves. In return for these bribes the trade union bosses represent the interests of the capitalists within the working class movement.

At all times the labor aristocracy is a vehicle for the infiltration of capitalist ideology and politics inside the working class. Of course, the labor aristocrats are die-hard defenders of the capitalist system and sworn enemies of the independent working class movements, the Workers Party and socialism. Moreover the labor aristocrats enthusiastically promote every poisonous campaign launched by the capitalists – the trade union bosses call on the workers to accept “productivity drives” and wage cuts to “make America more competitive;” the labor aristocrats are rabid supporters of U.S. imperialism, its domination of other nations and its war program; the labor aristocrats use workers’ funds and organizations to electioneer for various capitalist politicians, especially the Democratic Party, and try, with all their might, to keep the workers under the political tutelage of the capitalists.

Along with the labor aristocracy the capitalists also rely on numerous opportunist political groups, including social-democracy, the modern revisionists of the CPUSA, the trotskyites, Maoists, etc. The capitalists also foster and organize such trends as reactionary nationalism amongst the oppressed nationalities.

Opportunism, like the labor aristocracy, is financed, advertised and assisted in every possible way by the monopoly capitalist class and the capitalist state; these trends draw their membership largely from the ranks of the labor aristocracy and the upper petty bourgeoisie.

Although opportunism takes many forms and adopts various disguises, its role is to hinder and disrupt the process of the independent self-conscious organization of the working class. Opportunism opposes both the preparation and carrying through of the struggle for working class political power and socialism as well as disrupts and liquidates the immediate and partial struggles of the masses. Negating the fundamental historical truth that it is the masses of people who make history, the opportunists see the only decisive struggle as the one between factions and sections of the capitalist rulers. Therefore the opportunists are sworn enemies of the independent movement of the workers and constantly seek to subordinate the workers to the political tutelage of the capitalist parties, especially the Democratic Party. A tiny “ultra-left” wing of opportunism espouses anarchism, anarcho-communism, etc., and hangs around the edges of the working class movement, trying to divert its movement with various conservative dogmas, dressed up as “revolutionary communism,” etc.

That is what is blocking the way.

Today in fact, opportunism and revisionism have become part of the official ideology and state system of capitalism.

No, the workers cannot afford to let their very struggle – their very lives – develop spontaneously. They cannot afford to remain aimless individuals at the mercy of the capitalist exploiters and the contradictions of capitalism which keep tearing society apart. The workers must assert themselves by asserting their own aims and organizing their movement for emancipation on the basis of a conscious plan and organization.

The struggle against the labor aristocracy and political opportunism is a constant part of the class struggle of the workers against the capitalists. The experience of the workers movement, of the anti-war and anti-racist struggles, of the environmental movement, shows that the masses cannot take even one step forward without coming out in opposition to and struggle not only against the capitalists but also against the forces of disruption within the workers movement.

The Workers Party wages continuous struggle against the labor aristocracy and opportunism from the perspective of advancing the immediate struggles of the masses and preparing the conditions for socialist revolution. This struggle is not waged as a thing in itself but always as part of the over-all class struggle. Our starting point is always the interests of the masses, the unity of the masses, and the struggle of the masses. In the course of the day-to-day struggle as well as the political struggle we expose the ideology and politics of the opportunists and the labor aristocracy as roadblocks to the struggle, as the politics of class compromise and surrender. The struggle against the policy of compromise and surrender maximizes the immediate struggles of the masses by strengthening their consciousness and fighting spirit and by broadening the mobilization and organization of the masses themselves.

In order to carry through the struggle for emancipation, it is necessary that the forces of compromise be completely isolated and their influence expelled from the ranks of the working class.

At the same time, the Workers Party always works to go broader and deeper amongst the working class and broad masses, to mobilize and organize them as the builders of their own independent movement. The Workers Party holds that the emancipation of the working class can only be achieved by the workers themselves. Thus, the starting point of the Party’s work is to bring into political life the masses of people who are locked out and excluded from the political mechanisms set up by the capitalists and the opportunists. The Party’s experience is that only by bringing revolutionary politics – The Marxist-Leninist politics of emancipation – to the people can we break the stranglehold of bourgeois politics and release the people’s initiative.

These two-fold tactics of 1) uncompromising struggle against the politics and ideology of opportunism, and 2) the ever-broader and more thorough-going mobilization and organization of the masses are key to advancing the working class movement.

To Hell With the Republicans and Democrats!
There Is an Alternative!

During the current election cycle the profound ideological, cultural and spiritual crisis of our society shows how decayed and rotten the system is. The capitalist media, in all its forms, bombards the people with images of violence and crime, inculcates, covertly and overtly, chauvinism and racism. The so-called “messages” and “programs” of the Democratic and Republican candidates aim both at inciting antagonism among the people and creating an atmosphere of pessimism and fear which is in turn used by the state as a justification for increasing fascism.

The all-around decay of the culture and the ideological aggression – which is intensified during the election period – seeks to demoralize people and to create a fatalism which leaves the masses without any perspective on life and society. The capitalist cultural aggression aims at the degradation of human beings and at obliterating every human and civilized value from the minds of the people and the memory of society.

While the two big political parties compete with one another for the spoils of office, they stand together against the interests of the people. When the crisis demands action, when the time for talk is over, both the Republicans and Democrats stand on the bi-partisan program of shifting the economic burden onto the masses; both stand for the program of stripping away the political rights of the people; both stand for the program of militarism and imperialist war.

During mass work, groups to discuss and distribute The Worker find that there is tremendous opposition to both the Republicans and Democrats. Almost no one expresses any enthusiasm for any of the candidates. People denounce the campaign tactics of both parties which are based on trying, at all costs, to avoid any real discussion over the issues. People express their contempt for the capitalist politicians, who may promise anything during the elections, but once in office only look after their own careers without giving a damn about the needs of the people.

The workers and people were most interested in talking about how to solve such problems as unemployment; underemployment (part time and temporary jobs;) job insecurity; plummeting wages; high taxes; the government’s assault on labor legislation such as workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, laws restricting child labor and overtime; the lack of medical care, etc. A large majority of the people were extremely open to the program of the Workers Party. They felt that building a genuine alternative – building a political movement based on the working masses – was a necessary and positive step in order to break the stranglehold which the super-rich exert over the government.

Kerry Takes a Moment to Focus on Deadly U.S. Adventures in Syria

Reprinted from the Anti-Imperialist News Service, December 29, 2015

In a speech at the UN on December 18, Secretary Kerry openly revealed that opposition within the international community is creating a major barrier to U.S. hopes of establishing a “transitional government” in Syria. Despite the UN Security Council’s passage of a document called “Resolution 2254,” which provides tacit support for the aggressive aims of the U.S.-led military intervention, “there obviously remain sharp differences within the international community, especially about the future of President Assad,” stated Kerry in his remarks. Even while endorsing in theory U.S. imperialism’s dream of instituting a new political and economic system in Syria, the UNSC stopped short of agreeing on a concrete set of demands to make on the Syrian state.

For the last 4 and 1/2 years the Obama administration, along with leading members of the Democratic and Republican parties and the monopoly controlled media, has been repeating the Big Lie that the source of the violence in Syria was to be found in the allegedly barbaric and uncivilized “human nature” of the Syrian people who are said to be incapable of governing themselves without outside interference. This racism and chauvinism against the Syrian and Arab peoples is the ideology of the U.S. monopoly capitalist class used to justify its aggressive wars and interventions throughout the region. It has been an ideology used not only to justify open U.S. aggression, but also to cover over some of the most brutal atrocities perpetrated by the CIA there – including the planting of bombs in public squares and hospitals and the assassination of public workers.

In Syria, the U.S. is attempting to turn the clock back to the days of the colonial mandate system. Little more than half a century after the overthrow of French-colonial rule in Syria, the U.S. is proposing the re-establishment of foreign rule once again. But it is not the so-called unreadiness of the Syrian people for sovereignty and independence that is the problem in Syria. It is the CIA’s dirty war that is the source of the violence.

An end to the CIA dirty-war in Syria will only come about through defense of the principles fought and won by the peoples and reflected in international law. We must uphold the essential principle that aggression by one state against another will not be allowed to pass.

The American people must remain clear-headed and vigilant. We must not allow ourselves to get bewildered by the government’s deafening propaganda about its so-called “international war on terrorism.” Rather, we must speak the truth about the real motives of CIA intervention in Syria which are to be found squarely in the interests of the U.S. monopoly capitalist class. In the present era, the U.S. monopoly capitalist class lives not only by the exploitation of the American working class but also by the superexploitation and plunder of nations and peoples throughout the world. We must staunchly oppose U.S. military intervention in the Middle East regardless of how it is advertised; we must extend our support to the anti-colonial movements of the Arab peoples who are fighting for genuine independence, freedom, and social progress.

From the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan: Talks Between the Islamic Emirate and Russia Against ISIL Has No Reality

On Wednesday 23rd December 2015 some media outlets published a report quoting the Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation to Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov as saying that they have talked to or established lines of communication with the Islamic Emirate regarding the threat of so called Dawalah Aslamia of Eraq and Sham (Daesh or “ISIL”) in Afghanistan.

The Islamic Emirate has made and will continue to make contacts with many regional countries to bring an end to the American invasion of our country and we consider this our legitimate right.

But we do not see a need for receiving aid from anyone concerning so called Daesh and neither have we contacted nor talked with anyone about this issue.

Some people in Afghanistan are wrongfully taking advantage of the name Daesh while national and international intelligence are also supporting them with the aim of prolonging the occupation. This phenomenon is not acceptable to the Afghan nation hence the Islamic Emirate as the true representative of its people has to a large extent uprooted this project and it currently only has presence in a small corner of a single province out of the 34 provinces which is not worth any concern.

The Afghan Mujahid nation which, with the grace and help of Allah Almighty, confronted and pushed to the edge of defeat some 49 invading nations and evil elements of their stooge administration can also Allah Almighty willing repulse this foreign threat and it has succeeded in doing so to a great degree.

Victories on the Battlefield in Afghanistan

A review of Jihadi progress in 2015

Another year of Jihad against the foreign occupation has elapsed. Over the last fourteen years, 2015 can be labelled as one of the most successful and inspiring Jihadi year which was fraught with numerous significant and sometimes unanticipated achievements in its fold. To encompass all the political, military, social and cultural activities in this one article is a painstaking task therefore we will only confine ourselves to the crucial Jihadi incidents, successes and conquest.

Beginning of the year

Fortunately 2015 was full of great successes for Mujahidin. January, the very first month of this year, which is usually known for the reduction of Jihadi attacks due to adverse weather conditions and as every year, the amount of Jihadi operations come down to their minimum during this month but this year, it had the following significant incidents and achievements in its wake:

On Sunday 4th January, two major commanders of the unrestrained Arbaki militiamen were killed. One was called ‘Khalil’, the head of Baraki Barak district Arbakis and the second one was the crime officer of Qara-Bagh district in Ghazni province.

On the following day, Monday 5th January, several foreign soldiers were killed in a successful martyrdom attacks of Mujahidin in ninth police district of the capital Kabul city and near Jalalabad airbase, in the eastern part of the country.

On Tuesday 6th January, Mujahidin of the Islamic Emirate launched large scale attacks in Badakhshan province in the north east of the country.

On Wednesday 7th January, a successful martyrdom attack was carried out on the police academy in Khost province in the east. Similarly twelve stooge soldiers were killed and twelve others surrendered in the central Baghlan province.

On Sunday 11th January, the convoy of governor of Paktika province was brought under attack resulting in casualties and losses for the enemy.

On Monday 12th January, the security commander of Mizana’district in Zabul province was killed. In another significant incident, an infiltrated Mujahid policeman managed to kill all district officials and workers including their commander in Nowzad district of Helmand province.

On Wednesday 14th January, the security commander and head of anti-crime department of Almar district in Faryab province were killed.

On Sunday 18th January, a successful martyrdom attack was carried out on policemen in Lashkargah city, the capital of Helmand province.

On Wednesday 21st January, tens of Arbaki militiamen surrendered in the suburbs of Ghor province. Similarly in Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province, Mujahidin successfully liberated five major areas from the malicious Arbaki militiamen.

In addition to minor assaults, blasts and targeted attacks, huge operations against the internal and external enemies were incessant which increased day by day resulting in great conquests and liberations of vast areas.

Conquered areas, districts and bases of the enemy

A significant success of Mujahidin in 2015 from a military point of view was that for the first time several military posts, bases and districts were liberated from the enemy. Consequently Mujahidin got control of vast areas by the grace of Almighty Allah. In the following lines, brief information about these areas is provided:

In the whole span of 2015, Mujahidin conquered and liberated thirty four districts throughout the country in addition to the capital of ‘Kunduz’ province and most of these districts are still under their control while some of them have been retaken by the enemy. Names of the districts controlled by Mujahidin are as follow:

Bakwa, Khak-i-Safid, Bala-Baluk, Gulistan districts in Farah province Jawand district in Badghis province; Charsada district on Ghor province; Dara Abdullah Khail in Panj-Shair province; Yamgan and Baharak districts in Badakhshan province; Tala-o-Barfak district in ‘Baghlan’ province; Nowzad, Musa-Kala, Sangin, Khanashin and the centre of Baghran district in Helmand province; Ghoriyan district in Herat province; Char-Dara, Dasht-i-Archi, Qala-Zal and Imam-Sahib districts in Kunduz province; Want-Wegal district in Nuristan province; Kohistanat district in Saripul province; Goshshta district in Paktika province; Ishkamish, Yangi-Kala, Khwaja-Ghar and Darqad districts in Takhar province; Kharwar district in Logar province; Kham-Aab district in Jozjan province; Khwaja-Musa and Garziwan districts in Faryab province; Ghorak district in Kandahar province; Khogyani district and the centre of Nawa district in Ghazni province.

In addition to the above mentioned conquests, the most significant incident of the year took place on Saturday 28th September as the capital city of Kunduz province, the sixth largest city of the country, came under Mujahidin control. The governor office, central command, main castle, all directorates with the exception of some installations at the airport and entire city remained under the control of Mujahidin for one and a half week. Later, to avoid the civilian casualties and civil destruction due to the indiscriminate and brutal bombardment of the foreign invaders, Mujahidin decided to withdraw from the city.

In the wake of this significant conquest, Mujahidin broke the central jail of this province and liberated a large number of their own colleagues as well as other innocent prisoners. They took possession of secret documents of the national security department and a huge amount of light and heavy weapons and several vehicles of ammunition were also seized. Though the Mujahidin of the Islamic Emirate did not disclose the exact amount of their gains due to military restrictions however the stooge admin admitted in a report provided by a fact finding mission which stated that thirty seven armoured vehicles, two T-62 Russian tanks and more than one thousand light weapons of the mercenary national army were missing including several night vision binoculars.

Like Kunduz, Mujahidin also managed to get so close to the centres of Ghazni, Zabul, Uruzgan and Ghor provinces that the officials of the stooge regime began fleeing in panic.

On Monday 14th September, Mujahidin broke into the central jail of Ghazni province and liberated four hundred prisoners.

In addition to the above mentioned provincial centres, the capitals of Baghlan, Helmand and Faryab provinces remain only at a stone through away from Mujahidin of the Islamic Emirate.

Inside Kunduz province, Char-Dara, Gor-Tepa, Qala-Zal, Imam-Sahib, Dasht-i-Archi, Ali-Abad and some areas of Khan-Abad districts were completely liberated from the malicious Arbaki militiamen. In this way we can say that Mujahidin prevailed in most areas of Kunduz province that’s why they managed to bring the centre of this province under their control. In the Markazi Baghlan district of Baghlan province, several police posts and military bases were conquered and destroyed. In Dahna-Ghori district, three battalions and several other posts were captured. In the suburbs of the capital Pul-i-Khumri, several villages and areas were liberated. Similarly vast areas in Tala-o-Barfak, Dand-i-Ghori and Burka districts of Baghlan province were freed from the enemy.

Warduj, Raghistan, Jurm, Argo, Yamgan and Baharak districts of Badakhshan province, tens of military posts and several battalions of the mercenary army were conquered and destroyed by Mujahidin. Consequently all routes between these districts were restored, areas were freed and Mujahidin’s influence was increased.

In addition to the conquest of Nowzad, Musa-Kala, Sangin and Khanashin districts in Helmand province, several other areas came under Mujahidin control as they entered Baba-Jee area in suburbs of the capital of Helmand province and the notorious Arbaki militiamen were driven away from the area. Great progress was made in the suburbs of Nad-Ali district. Shoraki, Qala-Gaz and Haidar-Abad areas in Grishk district of this province came under Mujahidin’s control. Only some posts of the enemy are left between Mirmandaw and Zunbuli areas. Similarly most areas of Deh-Adam-Kham are liberated.

In Marja and Kajaki districts of Helmand province only the centres are controlled by the enemy while all remaining areas are captured by Mujahidin. In briefly we can say that in Helmand province, Mujahidin are completely dominant,and the enemy is confined to Lashkargah city and some areas of Garam-Sair and Nawa districts only.

Another example of last year’s achievements was the rapid progress of Mujahidin in Uruzgan province. Though the capital city and district centres of this province are still under the regime control however the remaining areas which were the stronghold of notorious Arbaki militiamen are now completely freed from their malicious presence. During the span of last year, large areas, villages and valleys of Dehrawod, Char-Chino, Chura, Chinartu, Tarin-Kot and Khas-Uruzgan were cleared from Arbaki and police presence. A large number of Arbakis in this province surrendered through the ceaseless efforts of ‘Invitation and Guidance’ Commission of the Islamic Emirate. A well-known Arbaki commander named Abdul Samad who was a warmonger had to abscond from the area eventually. Another significant progress of 2015 in this area was that two police chiefs of this province ‘Matiullah’ and ‘Gulab Khan’ were killed by Mujahidin one after the other with an interval of very few days.

Faryab, Saripul, Badghis, Jozjan and Ghor provinces are another zone where vast areas were liberated from the enemy and captured by Mujahidin. Almar, Chilgazi, Qaisar, Pashtun-Kot, Khawaja-Musa, Garziwan, Ghormach, Shirin-Tagab and several strategic and densely populated areas of various other districts like Shaakh, Qarai etc. in ‘Faryab’ province were conquered by Mujahidin and the notorious Gilam-Jam militiamen (i.e. Dostam militia) were defeated there.

Jwand, Qadis and most areas of Sang-i-Atish districts in Badghis’province were freed from the stooge regime control.

All villages and areas of Dolina, Shahrak and Shinkot districts which were strongholds of government militiamen were liberated from their control as several groups of former government officials joined Mujahidin of the Islamic Emirate in those areas.

In addition to significant conquest of Kohistanat, the districts of Sang-Charak, Sheram and Sozma-Qala of Saripul province also fell in the hands of courageous Mujahidin and the notorious Arbaki militiamen were completely expelled from all these areas.

Besides the above mentioned achievements, vast areas in several other provinces which were formerly controlled either by the stooge national army or national police or the unrestrained Arbaki militiamen have been liberated by Mujahidin. In the following a sequence of areas names are provided which were either completely or to a large extent liberated from the enemy:

Omna, Goshta and Wazi-Khawa districts in Paktika province; Kohmard district in Bamyan province; Ali-Shair district in Khost province; Shilgar, Waghaz, Deh-Yak districts of Ghazni province including several areas in suburbs of the centre of this province; Bakwa, Khak-i-Safid, Bala-Baluk and Gulistan districts in Farah province; most areas of Dand-e-Patan district in Paktia province; Marawara, Chapa-Dara and Manogi districts in Konar province; several villages of Shaikh-Ali district in Parwan province; several posts in Tagab district of Kapisa province; several villages and valleys of Gizab district in Daikundi province; many military posts in Arghandab and Shahjoi districts and several areas of Qalat city, the centre of Zabul province; Kushk-i-Kuhna district, several military posts in Shindand district and the centre of Ghoriyan district in Herat province; the whole of Kharwar district and new areas in Narkh, Khoshi and Azra districts of Logar province; and fifteen check posts of notorious Arbaki militiamen situated on the main ‘Maidan-Bamyan’ road inside Jalraiz district of Maidan Wardak province were completely demolished and the protracted harmful presence of these militiamen was ended.